Entered by Slovenian Tourist Board

In line with the strategic guidelines for the sustainable growth of Slovenian tourism 2017-2020, STB wanted to re-direct tourist flows in Slovenia. The purpose of the campaign - Two million reasons why we feel Slovenia, launched by STB on June 6 2018 - was to inform the public about Slovenia being an attractive tourist destination, to the widest possible circle of people, increasing the chances of them choosing Slovenia for a holiday destination.

The campaign followed the focus of STB to encourage the ‘de – seasonalisation’ and geographical dispersion of tourism to various parts of Slovenia. An objective of the campaign was also to promote lesser-known destinations, “hidden corners” and tourist products with the aim of preventing the most popular destinations being overrun with tourists, and creating a more balanced geographical distribution of visitors in Slovenia.

Slovenia is the only country in the world with LOVE in its name and the brand consists of a meaningful message – I feel sLOVEnia. The team invited users to publish photos and videos, and to use the hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia and the hashtag of the place where the photo was taken in their posts. In the process of designing the campaign, the STB took into account the fact that social networks play an important role in travel decisions, and that choice of holiday destination is often influenced by the recommendations of friends and family. The team wanted to encourage both domestic and foreign guests to visit and share their new experiences of discovering the less well-known beauties of Slovenia. The long-term goal was to achieve two million posts with hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia, to encourage Slovenians to share their favourite places and the reasons why they feel Slovenia. A series of free-of-charge partnerships were built with a large group of Slovenian media - radio, TV, newspapers, magazines & online portals. The idea was to invite audiences / readers / viewers to share their hidden corners of Slovenia on social media using and sharing hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia and the # of the relevant partnering media. In addition, the team also invited Slovenian social media influencers and celebrities to share their own reasons why they feel Slovenia using hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia, making these individuals a strategic part of the communication strategy from the start of the campaign.

The number of social media posts with hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia is tracked daily. Before the campaign the average number of posts with hashtag #ifeelsLOVEnia per day was around 1,000. The average number of posts during the first part of the campaign grew to 2,360 per day – an increase of nearly 140%

The general response of social network users to the campaign was above expectations, as were the results. The campaign builds on the concept of exploiting earned media. Using the activities of Slovenian users on social networks through its connections abroad and foreign guests who visited Slovenia, the desired viral impact of the campaign has been achieved. The entire investment in the campaign – including the costs of purchasing digital tools for data monitoring was c. 20,000 euros. The team estimate that the campaign delivered media value of over 200,000 euros. Through the campaign, the Slovenian Tourist Office gained thousands of new posts in a quick and effective way, organically increased the visibility of Slovenia as a country and exploited the power of user-generated content.